The Unified Voice of CDFIs

About the Coalition

Formed in 1992 as an ad-hoc policy development and advocacy initiative, the Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI Coalition) is the lead national organization in the United States promoting the work of community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Through its member organizations, the Coalition represents CDFIs working in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This national network of CDFIs includes community development loan funds, […]

While the term “community development financial institutions” or “CDFI” is relatively new, the concept itself is part of a rich history of self-help credit. From the immigrant guilds of New York City’s Lower East Side and the Prairie Populists of the late 1800s, to African-American communities forming the first community development credit unions in the 1930s, communities have sought self-help credit solutions because traditional financial institutions have ignored or abandoned them.

Latest Posts

PathStone Corporation (PathStone) began full-time operations in Puerto Rico soon after Hurricane Georges came ashore in 1998. PathStone’s entry into Puerto Rico was a long wished for dream on the part of the Board of Directors which for many years wanted the organization to offer assistance to farmworkers on the Island. PathStone’s board had, from the beginning of the organization’s founding in 1966, included significant […]

Today the CDFI Fund announced $208.7 in CDFI Fund Program Awards, including: $171.1 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 265 organizations in 46 states and the District of Columbia; $22 million to 13 CDFIs through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance awards (HFFI-FA); and $15.6 million in FY 2017 NACA Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 38 organizations in 21 states. […]

Federal community development funding, as measured as a share of GDP, has declined by 75 percent over the least 40 years. Federal policy has increasing relied on private-sector resources to fill the gap. Through the NMTC and CDFI programs, community development organizations are filling the yawning credit gap encountered in many communities, creating jobs improving housing and community facilities and creating economic opportunity. This is […]

Success Stories

For over 20 years, CDFIs have been making financial services accessible to underserved communities and populations across the country. Among their many achievements, CDFIs have financed improved access to affordable housing, critical community facilities, and schools. They have financed small and growing businesses. Through their efforts, millions of dollars have been leveraged for investment in communities often left out of the economic mainstream, creating jobs and opportunities. Below are some of their stories.